Ethics in Business – by André Baard

We are like Melchizedek. We are both king and priest – at work and in our faith. Let us look at ethics in business.

WHAT IS ETHICS?

Ethics is about the fear of God and our inner integrity. We cannot separate our outward actions from our inner thoughts. We are what we do. In the Hebrew mindset, a man’s behavior is an extension of who he is. What we do is who we are. It is an extension of our personality. That’s why we can know God by what He has created.

Ethics is not just an add-on feature. It’s the essence of who we are. For example – why is the Holy Spirit called the Holy Spirit? That’s because He is holy; it is His essence and His nature. And if we have the Holy Spirit in us, then we are holy. It is important to us, because it is who we are. So when we do something contrary to what we are, we are being hypocritical. For example - Our work is our legacy. Often we don’t have to speak. Like the Psalmist says –‘My work is my protest’. Our work can speak of us. So if we are corrupt in our work, then it reflects our corrupt heart.

Let me share a few real life stories in this regard.

GREY AREAS

In my company, at one point we were constantly encountering grey areas. So I created a list called the GAG-Grey Area Gremlins. So whenever we had niggling situations that caused us difficulty in making ethical decisions, we would write down the GAG list – the things that made us vomit or things that were hard to decide. But we don’t have to negotiate because we have the Kingdom ethics of the Bible as our reference. We may find ourselves in difficult barrels but Jesus lives in us and He is able to help us change the barrel. We need to be the salt and light of our countries – Nigeria, Lagos and the other African countries. Let us be like a small light in the dark places of our land. Ethics is a light that can demonstrate our fear of God to the world around us. Let us repurpose capital into salty capital with integrity and faith for God’s kingdom.

SETTING A STANDARD

There was a problem with oil surveyors. A surveyor is one who measures and tests of the quantity of oil is right. The surveyors were cheating both the sellers and the buyers. They would promise to supply 1000 tons of oil but it would actually be only 900 tons. Into the scene came another company, who declared that they would not cheat on the measures. Even though they came from outside, they decided to not follow the existing corrupt practices, but to be honest. Soon, everybody started noticing that they were right. There was no cheating involved at all. They ensured that the right quantities were supplied. If they said that the oil was 1000 tons then it would be precisely that quantity – not 998 tons or 1005 tons. So, everyone trusted this company. Soon they were dominating the market, through their ethics.

CONCLUSION

We heard the other speaker say that he has numerous investment bankers on his side because of his trustworthiness and faithfulness. We can get real, commercial, profitable gain in God’s ways. He is not a killjoy that makes things difficult for us. He wants to bless us with profit. When we are faithful with little, we will be given much. Ethics is integral to God. He is Holy. We must not be Christian business people who do unholy things; instead, we must practice holiness.